NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday announced a Rs 8,000 crore package for states and Union territories for disaster risk reduction.
As per the announcement, Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for expanding and modernising fire services across the country; Rs 2,500 crore to reduce the risk of urban flooding in most populous metros of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune; and Rs 825 crore towards landslide risk mitigation in 17 states and UTs. A model fire bill has also been proposed for all states to have a uniform regulation and protocol to be followed.
Making the announcement during a meeting with disaster management ministers of the states/UTs, home minister Amit Shah said the states and UTs should work around the mantra of zero loss of lives during disasters by investing in disaster mitigation rather than the earlier relief and rehabilitation policy.
Lauding the efforts of states and UTs for making progress in disaster mitigation, Shah said the endeavour should be that not a single life is lost due to disaster. “The Centre and states have achieved many milestones in the last nine years, but we cannot be complacent… Nature of disasters has changed and their frequency and intensity have also increased, and for this we have to sharpen and broaden our preparedness to deal with them,” he said.
“We are getting very good results during disasters, comparing the nine years from 2005-06 to 2013-14 with 2014-15 to 2022-23, the fund of Rs 35,858 crore allocated to SDRF has now almost tripled to Rs 1,04,704 crore,” he said.
In addition, the release of funds from NDRF has increased by threefold from Rs 25,000 crore, to Rs 77,000 crore, Amit Shah added.
The Centre has also cautioned states to follow strict protocol at seven nuclear plant sites, which are newly-commissioned projects for emergency evacuation in case of disaster.
As per the announcement, Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for expanding and modernising fire services across the country; Rs 2,500 crore to reduce the risk of urban flooding in most populous metros of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune; and Rs 825 crore towards landslide risk mitigation in 17 states and UTs. A model fire bill has also been proposed for all states to have a uniform regulation and protocol to be followed.
Making the announcement during a meeting with disaster management ministers of the states/UTs, home minister Amit Shah said the states and UTs should work around the mantra of zero loss of lives during disasters by investing in disaster mitigation rather than the earlier relief and rehabilitation policy.
Lauding the efforts of states and UTs for making progress in disaster mitigation, Shah said the endeavour should be that not a single life is lost due to disaster. “The Centre and states have achieved many milestones in the last nine years, but we cannot be complacent… Nature of disasters has changed and their frequency and intensity have also increased, and for this we have to sharpen and broaden our preparedness to deal with them,” he said.
“We are getting very good results during disasters, comparing the nine years from 2005-06 to 2013-14 with 2014-15 to 2022-23, the fund of Rs 35,858 crore allocated to SDRF has now almost tripled to Rs 1,04,704 crore,” he said.
In addition, the release of funds from NDRF has increased by threefold from Rs 25,000 crore, to Rs 77,000 crore, Amit Shah added.
The Centre has also cautioned states to follow strict protocol at seven nuclear plant sites, which are newly-commissioned projects for emergency evacuation in case of disaster.